The Washington Post first reported this week on the Washington Redskins suing fans who have defaulted on season ticket contracts of late. According to the report, 125 fans have been unable to make payments on season ticket contracts over the last five years, and have subsequently been sued by the team.
What's more, fans and indeed the Post have charged the team with reselling the tickets through third party brokers--after winning suits in court to get the initial value of the tickets; as the report calls it, "double dipping."
The team responded after the initial report, saying that theirs was standard policy, and that they are more than willing to work with people to accomodate them in instances of hard times, something that is cited in numerous--probably most of the cases researched by the Post.
In a statement released shortly after the initial report, the team said: "The Post's focus on a tiny minority of suite and club seat holders who have defaulted on their contracts and against whom the team has been forced to take legal action is unfair to the Redskins."
However, the comments of fans in the Post story from today seem to tell another story.
The Redskins have the right to use the court to satisfy payments, and according to the team, this is standard practice.
But the very public emergence of these claims couldn't have come at a worse time for Washington. Under owner Daniel Snyder, fans have grown distrustful of, and alienated by, the Redskins brass. Charges of not only suing loyal, and very probably down-on-their-luck fans, but making more than their money back will only perpetuate this feeling of distrust.
